


Metaphor

by 1000PaperCranes



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-14
Packaged: 2018-02-17 09:02:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2304125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1000PaperCranes/pseuds/1000PaperCranes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky couldn't tell you if eyes were the windows to the soul, but this one definitely needed to be opened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Metaphor

Tony Stark was painted shut. Layer upon layer of self defense applied and dripping down to pool on the sill. Grime, from the storms survived frosted the glass hiding the heart locked inside. Too bad for Tony, Bucky's hearing was excellent and though the man was trapped inside, Bucky could hear him crying out, evidence of searing loneliness filtering through.

So, Bucky beat upon the glass and rattle the sashes. He pushed on through fatigue and pain, determined to bring fresh air and light to someone who deserved it. Some days, even when Bucky knew he had cracked through another layer, the veneer seemed impossibly thick, his hope waning and anemic, until some small thing reminded him that the man trapped inside had value worth fighting for and Bucky would bash away again, renewed in his efforts. Until it all finally gave way and the window slid up, jerky and slow with grit, but finally open wide, and there was Tony, huddled and wracked with fear, so very real. Finally.

Bucky stretched his hand in, waving away the dust motes and cobwebs, to pull this man free. In the stillness, as Tony stared at him, confusion and terror in equal parts, Bucky was afraid for the first time. He worried for failure at this very late stage when it would do the most damage. He could not climb over the sill to rescue his comrade. The heat that seeped from two broken hearts would melt the oils in the paint. The window would slip shut, trapping them both inside and before long the heat would mount until they flashed over and burnt away.

Bucky's fears evaporated when trembling fingers met his own. He clutched tight to Tony's hand hauling him quickly past the sash. They stood there in the sun, silent and staring. Tony's grip tightened and Bucky felt it and a jolt; he had reached out with his metal hand, offering the most damaged part of him to this man without so much as a thought. He grinned and laughed, watching as Tony turned the limb with careful hands, already mapping new over the old, and crying. Bucky's face felt cracked with emotion already, but seeing tears in Tony's eyes and upon his face for the first time was worth it. Happy was new to them and, even as Bucky licked damp salt from his own lips, he knew that together they would get used to it. Friends like this were as permanent as tattoos and tears of joy made the best ink.

**Author's Note:**

> Hella quick, not beta'd, went for it anyway.


End file.
